73% of Entertainment and Marketing Creatives Think AI ‘Will Elevate Content,’ UTA Study Finds

For many in Hollywood, AI has been a swear word. That may be changing.

According to a new study by the talent agency UTA, 73 percent of entertainment and marketing creatives believe generative artificial intelligence “will elevate content,” and 75 percent of those currently using AI say they are “creating higher-quality work” with it.

This (and other findings) led United Talent Agency to declare this to be “a profound turning point in AI’s adoption in marketing and entertainment.” The industries UTA services (and UTA IQ studies) are shifting from “fear and resistance” to “curiosity, excitement, and cautious optimism,” the report reads, as “respected leaders and professionals openly discuss usage.”

For this study, UTA interviewed 293 creative professionals in the marketing and advertising fields and 209 in the entertainment field. The survey was conducted in mid-May 2024.

The marketing creatives were more bullish on AI than the entertainment creatives, but not overwhelmingly so. More than three-quarters (76 percent, to be exact) of the entertainment creatives interviewed for the study said AI will “make more things possible.” Sure, but do you like it?

Forty-five percent said they are “curious” about AI; 25 percent said they are “excited.” But more than half (56 percent) believe AI will positively impact their day-to-day work.

Of course, not all AI use is created equally, and thus not all will be accepted. In entertainment, its use in storyboarding or developing concept art may not ruffle as many feathers as if AI were used for visual effects of scriptwriting. Seventy-one percent of those polled by UTA support increased regulation of AI.

“There has always been fear and uncertainty around new technology. Painters worried they would be replaced by photography, movies by theater, TV by movies. Instead, new art forms were born. Human creativity has always found a way, and this survey shows today’s creators are continuing that long tradition of molding technology to their advantage,” Joe Kessler, the head of UTA IQ, said in a statement shared with the media. “From automating rote tasks to helping explore near-infinite variations on an idea, AI can help creators explore the boundaries of what’s possible and maximize our most precious commodity as humans — our time.”

IndieWire recently reported that generative AI is increasingly being taught in top film schools, and others have pushed back on the notions that AI will drastically reduce costs in film and TV production or replace creatives altogether.